Climate Change is a phrase that has been discussed ad-infinitum. Everybody has a view about whether it is a reality or not, and about whether we as individuals can do anything to change it. Does it really matter whether we think the climate is changing through our actions or through natural causes? Does it matter whether we believe the earth’s temperature is actually increasing at all?

Perhaps we should be calling Climate Change “The Pollution Problem”. Is there anyone who doesn’t believe we have a pollution problem? We all curse sitting in a traffic jam breathing exhaust fumes, dislike seeing smoke belching out of a factory chimney, dislike smelling chemical smells around our towns, wonder how we are going to dispose of all the tonnes of rubbish we produce, worry about how we dispose of electronic items and worry about the loss of forests and rural land. We enjoy getting away from it all, going to the countryside for a break, listening to birds and frogs, watching butterflies, and we look with envy at how some people manage to live a more relaxed lifestyle. We worry that we spend too many hours at work to pay for our consumer driven lifestyle.

Everything we buy has created some pollution by its production and will create more pollution by its disposal. Some things also cause pollution by their use. If we think of the problem as a pollution problem, maybe we can get onto the serious business of doing something about it, change people’s focus from arguing about climate change to thinking about how to tackle the pollution problem.

Are People or Businesses the Drivers of the Pollution Problem?

Are we just the users of the electricity, goods, cars, fuels and power provided by big business? We buy goods produced in factories where there is little, if any, regard for protecting the environment. We like to buy nice things for our homes and families. We buy big powerful cars that use a lot of fuel. We eat food produced using polluting fuels, wrapped in packaging that will pollute our world. We eat meat produced on factory farms, without regard for the pollution and suffering it causes. We eat vegetables produced on farms practicing monoculture that degrades the soil, and produced using chemicals and pesticides that pollute the world, killing insects and frogs.

It is big business that drives what is available to buy, advertises products to influence what we “need” to enhance our lifestyle, decides how those things are produced, how long an effective life the products have, what we need to run our cars and homes. Big business pollutes the atmosphere by producing so many things for us to buy. Big business drives our economy and influences politicians. Big business has a vested interest in being allowed to continue their pollution of the world, to enable them to continue to produce their products cheaply and pay their executives outrageous salaries.

So, can we hand the problem off to big business and say we can do nothing to help end the pollution problem? I don’t think so, but we can influence our governments to stop big business being allowed to create so much pollution. Big business needs to get behind the switch to renewable energy, have a conscience about how goods are produced and how much pollution is caused by their production methods. When big polluters have to pay for the carbon (aka pollution) they create they will start to drive the switch to clean, renewable forms of energy. They will have to think about how their goods are produced, wrapped, delivered and how long a life span the product has before disposal. They might also have to have a hand in how the product is disposed of at the end of its useful life.

So, what can we do as individuals? Supporting the carbon tax is one area where we can have some influence. When this leads to changes in how big business produces goods we will be the winners. When clean, renewable energy sources are available for us all, and if we are lucky we reduce pollution in time, we will be able to go on living our comfortable lives in a cleaner world.

We can also have influence through our buying choices. Doing the following things will reduce pollution and most have other great advantages too:

1. Buy less stuff and reduce your debt levels.

2. Buy organically produced food to send the message that we don’t want to poison our bodies with chemicals and we don’t want to poison our land for future generations.

3. Eat less meat to reduce the need for non-sustainable animal farming, improve your health and save money.

4. Compost your waste at home to reduce the amount of landfill and create healthy soil for future generations.

5. Grow some of your own food, re-learn old skills and eat a healthier diet.

6. Use heritage seeds in your garden to help provide an on-going source of non-modified seeds.

7. Drive a small, energy efficient car, walk, use public transport or ride a bike to get fit and save money.

8. Choose to buy a smaller TV, an energy efficient washing machine, and less “things” in general.

9. Use fans instead of air-conditioning. Air conditioning dries the air, and dries your skin. Avoiding air conditioning will help you stay young looking.

10. Dry your clothes and linen outside in the fresh air. The best way to kill dust mites is by exposing them to direct sunlight.

11. Install solar power and water tanks to save resources and reduce your bills.

12. Plant a tree you love each year and encourage your children/grandchildren to grow some plants, you’ll be creating memories. Ask friends what they remember about the house they grew up in and about the garden they played in as a child. Most people won’t remember much about the house, but will have great memories of the garden.

13. And, above all, don’t lose sight of the fact that we are the users of the goods produced by big businesses. The more we buy, the more pollution is produced. Remember that research shows that personal happiness is not increased by material possessions or spending more time at work. Personal happiness increases when we spend time with friends and family, contribute to our community and experience fun, relaxing times.

If we all take the above steps, or at least work on using some of them, we will be helping to reduce the pollution problem and that is a positive step towards a cleaner World.